


Donuts and Ice Cream

by dinosaurus_maj



Series: You the Magenta Tallest and Your Two Idiots [2]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Almighty Tallest Reader, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Discrimination, Enemies to Friends, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Height discrimination, Irken Empire (Invader Zim), Irkens (Invader Zim), Irkens are Terrible (Invader Zim), M/M, Mentioned Past Death, Mentioned past murder, No Smut, Not Beta Read, Not all that happy with the first chapter so it might undergo a major rewrite in the future, Past Relationship(s), Platonic Relationships, Purple is a bamf, Purple is a meanie, Purple is a slob, Reader is a BAMF, Reader is an Irken, Reader's gender is not specified, Reader-Insert, Red is a BAMF, Snacking together, Snacks & Snack Food, Very AU, but not as much as red and purple, but so are you, red and purple are best buds, robot violence, violence against robots, you and red used to be best buds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25590802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinosaurus_maj/pseuds/dinosaurus_maj
Summary: Being on Irk with co-Tallest Purple around makes you want to tear your PAK off. On planet Devastis, you expect that things wouldn't be any different.Of course, you've been wrong before. Besides, it's about time you had some fun, right?
Relationships: Almighty Tallest Purple & Almighty Tallest Red, Almighty Tallest Purple & Reader, Almighty Tallest Purple/Reader, Almighty Tallest Red & Reader
Series: You the Magenta Tallest and Your Two Idiots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859857
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	1. Blast from the Past

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had a little bit of burnout and writer's block while writing this, so if the pacing's weird and there're a lot of mistakes, that's why. I was determined to finish and post this anyway so I wrote it, edited it quickly and now here's the first half!
> 
> This was only supposed to be only one chapter, but I ran out of time to edit the rest so I split it. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> (Please point out mistakes and typos if you spot any and feedback is appreciated!)
> 
> ((Also, the title might change at some point. I don't like it.))

The Almighty Death Battle was an event within Irken history that happened long before your generation. As the name suggests, it was a bloody, brutal event that had occured between Almighty Tallest. _Five_ Almighty Tallest, to be exact. They didn't like the idea of having to rule the empire with four other Tallest, so their solution was a fight to the death. The victor, Victorious Almightiest Almighty Tallest Centrix ruled for only seventy years before going completely nuts and dying from sustained PAK injuries from the death battle and skirmishes over the years.

A similar event was the case of Almighty Tallest Chocco and Almighty Tallest Vanil, wherein they formed an intense rivalry upon their encoding and kept indirectly trying to kill each other for the duration of their rule together. They lasted about a hundred-and-thirty years before Chocco fell victim to his own trap in an unfortunate (but kind of funny) incident. Vanil ruled as the one and only Tallest for a few decades before dying to a collection of traps planted by Chocco prior to his death.

Another one was the scandal of the three Tallest Strawb, Ber and Rawsp. Tallest Ber perished due to assassination that, based on evidence of disagreements between the the three of them, had no doubt been coordinated by the other two Tallest. This didn't impose any negative impact towards the Irken Empire, however, for they were a productive pair, ruling side-by-side for close to a thousand years before Rawsp killed Strawb in what was said to either be a fit of madness or anger before disappearing. Neither of their PAKs were able to be recovered, so the details of their sudden friction are unknown to this day. There was speculation that the cause was defectiveness in their PAKs, which you agreed to be likely.

Why is this all relevant? Well, not only were you in a similar situation to these Tallest, but you have been stuck within a spaceship with co-Tallest Purple for three days and you were at your limit.

Planet Devastis wasn't too far of a ride from Irk (fortunately) and you had been occupying yourself with another dive through the archives for other instances of multi-Tallest encoding. As it was so rare, there weren't all that many. You could count them on your two hands (which was impressive considering the regular amount of fingers on a single Irken) so the insight you'd been hoping for wasn't much and they weren't very helpful.

You had considered them, like assassination or a fight to the death, but a quick look at Purple's kill count made it apparent that the latter option likely wouldn't turn out well for you. Not to mention, he had been a frontlining soldier for the past few years while you'd mostly sat behind a console, so it would do you better to just forget the idea. Assassination, on the other hand, could turn up a better outcome but it included risks that you weren't willing to take.

The best option right now would be to stuff him down a garbage chute. It's not like he wouldn't belong down there and, right now, listening to the smacking and squelching of his mouth as he chewed on mouthfuls of donuts with jelly dribbling down onto his chestplate, you thought he _really_ belonged down there.

_"—and let's not forget those fizzy little candies! Like, you know how they go_ pop _and sizzle in your mouth? Yeah!"_

Looking up from the screen of your Taplet, you glare at the holographic image of Tallest Red in front of you. It was only a live recording, but the wide smile on his face felt like it was mockingly directed at you.

Red, the sticky-faced _schmoop_ , had so conveniently gotten scheduled to appear on the Announcer's show right before the three of you had to leave for Devastis, leaving you to deal with Purple for the entirety of the trip to, on, and then _back_ from the planet all on your own. He was already unbearable with Red there to keep his attention, so you hadn't looked forward to being all alone with him for more than a day and you were right to dread it.

You didn't like Purple. Purple knew you didn't like Purple and he didn't like you either. He made that obvious when he slathered a jumbo bag of donuts with the ship's stash of chocolate sauce and didn't break eye contact with you while he ate it all and dripped chocolate all over the bridge. You had chucked the rainbow sprinkles and chocolate chips out of the airlock in retaliation, but you regretted that action quickly.

What was even more embarrassing was that the ship's crew saw it happen. You couldn't imagine what it could be like to witness your all-powerful leader jettison some toppings into outer space in a childish fit. You were sure that it wouldn't come off as at all regal.

If Red had been around, he would have kept Purple occupied with silly shenanigans and chatter. You didn't like it when they pointlessly laughed at dumb jokes or played donut-toss instead of doing something more dignified or productive during off-times, but then at least Purple would be doing _those_ things instead of purposefully annoying you in his spare time just because.

Not to mention, Red was just a lot more bearable in general. If there had been a chance for him to take Purple's place instead, you would've jumped on it.

But, for now, you had no choice but to deal with the drooly menace that was Annoying Tallest Purple.

_"And now we're going to discuss the ranking that you've all tuned in for: The Top 30 Most Fizziest Sodas of the Galaxy Ranked from Explosive to Really Explosive!"_

Red laughs. _"If we ranked the Tallest on explosiveness, my co-Tallest would be at number one."_

Red and the Announcer erupt with laughter and Purple's high-pitched howling fills the control room. Your antennae twitch irritatedly as you sink yourself deeper into your chair.

_Drown in explosive slooshie, Red._

* * *

The last time you'd been on Devastis was the time Almighty Miyuki came to supervise Invader exams. Even then, you hadn't really had the chance to look around and maybe check out your old stomping grounds or catch up with your former comrades. Being captain of your crew, you had to make sure that they all remained accounted for at all times. You were all allowed to do whatever when you were off-duty, but your image and reputation were still important to keep up. It wouldn't look good on you _or_ the Tallest if her ship's crew blew up one of the empire's biggest military training planets.

You were just a Navigator then. An Elite before that. Now, you've returned as the Almighty Tallest.

Sigh. _A_ Tallest. Looking at Purple next to you made your blood boil, so instead you turn your attention again to the Observation Screen.

"That is Invader Trainee Goflar," the High Commander says, gesturing towards the Irken in the footage. "5' 5. He's resourceful. Can craft a snack out of pretty much anything, but stealth isn't really his specialty."

The current footage being shown was of an Irken hiding within some bushes. When an animal walks by him, it manages to detect him and pounces on him before he could react. The trainee struggles against it and starts to scream inaudibly when it grabs him with its fangs.

"It'd be nice if this thing had an unmute button." Purple comments. The smile he gives you cues you for a laugh, but all you do is narrow your eyes at him. He nudges you with his elbow but gives up when you start to ignore him again.

"His skills need work," you agree with the Commander. You glance at Purple out of the corner of your eye and sigh inwardly. "Care to offer any insight, Tallest Purple?"

He boredly flicks a popcorn kernel at the screen. "Hm? Oh." He sits up a little and peers at the screen. He cracks a small smile and says, "Oh yeah, this guy. Golfer."

"Goflar." you correct him.

"Whatever. Anyway, this guy," He rewinds the footage and puts Goflar's mauling on repeat. "He can make a really mean sandwich. Don't really know all that much about him other than that, but from the time I knew him he's a bit of a pushover. Can't get him to tell me what his secret for sandwich perfection is, though."

"No, then." you say dismissively, pressing on your remote to let the footage continue to play. You hum as you watch Goflar grab a handful of dirt and throw it into the animal's eyes before blinding it completely with his PAK legs once it has let him go. "He still seems capable enough, though."

"Why'd you even ask me anything if you were just gonna ignore what I have to say?" Purple grumbles. You don't respond, but you do mentally roll your eyes at him.

Goflar climbs up and disappears into the thick of the tree leaves before reappearing in a flurry of feathers with a really big bird strangling him with its talons.

You jump to the footage of the next trainee.

"This is—"

"Zeff! Oh, _this_ guy's cool," Purple exclaims through a mouthful of popcorn. "He once blew a rat guy's head off with a soda and also decapitated three other guys' heads off at the same time while his PAK legs were broken."

The High Commander casts him an exasperated look that quickly vanishes. "Yes. Invader Trainee Zeff. He has displayed exceptional prowess in combat and battle strategy. He's also very skilled in the use of firearms and has experience fighting from within enemy territory. Not to mention, he has good height, too."

The footage shows an Irken, about 6' 7, if you weren't mistaken, leaping from tree to tree, his PAK legs moving in a deft and deadly rhythm as their pointed ends struck the tree bark and carried him through the air. He moved with such ease and speed that it was almost as if he were flying, his body not staying suspended for more than half a second.

"Impressive." you say.

"Yeah, awesome," Purple says nonchalantly as he swallows a mouthful of popcorn. He leans back and smirks smugly. "Still not as awesome as me, though."

His eyes suddenly light up and he leans over to shove his face up to yours.

"Ooh! We should totally watch _my_ video!" he suggests excitedly. "My test was _way_ cooler. Even _you'd_ like it!"

He doesn't wait for your response and grabs his remote to start surfing to his recorded assignment. You're a bit taken aback but you quickly recollect yourself and snatch the remote out of his hand.

"Hey—!"

"We didn't fly through space to fool around, _Tallest Purple_ ," you hiss. "We're here to evaluate our future Invaders for Operation Impending Doom. Focus!"

Purple's smile dips into a deep frown and he directs a really exasperated look at you, which you return.

"I wanna, but you've been disregarding literally everything I have to say," he says. "How am I supposed to do my part of the job when you've been pretending like you're the only Almighty Tallest in the room?"

"It's not hard when my co-Tallest hasn't really been _acting_ like one." you reply derisively. Purple's eyes squint as he glares, his claws piercing his popcorn bucket.

"Acting like what? A boring, stuck-up mud-stick?" he scoffs. "It's pretty obvious we have different standards of what a Tallest is like. So what if I take things easy? It's nothing to twist your antennae about."

"So what?" you fume. "I'm literally the only one doing anything around here! You call that just a standard?"

"The only reason you're the only one doing anything is that you refuse to acknowledge me and Red!" Purple huffs. "We get it, you're all sophisticated and stuff and you were buddy-buddy with Miyuki. Doesn't mean you're better than us and get to boss us around like we're shorter than you. We've literally got the same height and the same rank, we're supposed to work _together_."

"Then get your head out of the stars and take things more seriously, will you?! You're not just a soldier anymore, you're supposed to be leading the empire. It's not a game!"

"I know it isn't! Ugh, I'm just trying to enjoy the stuff that comes with my status, is that so bad?" He slams down the popcorn bucket and sends popcorn flying everywhere. Some of them pelts your face but you don't break eye contact with him. "You know what? I'm taking an early break, so you can just finish this up yourself because you're _such_ a good Tallest and I'm _so_ lazy."

He picks up a piece of popcorn between his claws and flicks it at your forehead. It bounces and lands on the armrest of your chair. Purple stands, sending more popcorn scattering to the floor as he does and floats out of the room. He returns a moment later to retrieve his bucket, flick another kernel at you and even sticks out his tongue for good measure.

When the revolving door closes, you sigh heavily and lean into the plush of your chair. You close your eyes for a moment and when you open them, you see the High Commander fidgeting awkwardly with the tablet in her hands out of the corner of your eye.

"Um... Shall we continue, my Tallest?" she asks reluctantly.

"I need a minute." you mumble.

* * *

You had started thinking about Purple's words, and you couldn't stop.

During your time as captain on Almighty Miyuki's ship, you were also a sort of apprentice. Miyuki became a sort of mentor to you, someone to look up to as not only your leader but also an example. A role model. To you, your Tallest was the perfect image of an Almighty Tallest—Clever, calculated, wise, respected. She was always so calm, collected and composed. She had an imposing image that you'd always admired. Her presence alone could make heads turn when she entered a room.

You wanted to be like that. You wanted to be that kind of Tallest, but you weren't Miyuki. You couldn't be. Not in a million years.

For one, Miyuki didn't have two other Tallest she had to work with. She had to shoulder everything all on her own and somehow manage to get snack breaks in between it all.

But the case wasn't the same for you. You weren't alone, so you couldn't be the kind of Tallest Miyuki was. You couldn't imitate the same methods she performed and taught you when you were in her entourage. That's because you didn't have to.

Miyuki also didn't envy other Irkens for how laid-back they could be. If she did, she never showed it. Even with all your desire to be productive and responsible, you also wanted to be able to lean back and take things easy. That was why you'd wanted to be Tallest in the first place. The Tallest could do whatever she wanted and no one could tell her otherwise.

Maybe Purple was right. You _were_ boring, and you didn't have the right to order around your fellow Tallest like you'd been doing this whole time. You couldn't pretend like they weren't there, because they _were_ and you had to work with them if you wanted to raise the empire to succession.

You didn't intend on repeating the mistakes of the past Tallest.

Red and Purple had their own ways of ruling the empire and you had to learn to work with them. Sure, they might be unconventional or unorthodox, but if they worked they worked. They might be a bit irresponsible and reckless, sure, but they had each other to pick up the other's slack. If not, they also had you.

And you had them.

You push open the door to the Commanders' lounge before it can fully retract. Doing so, you startle Purple who's draped himself over the entirety of the couch. He chokes on a nacho and sits up a bit, wiping some cheese from his cheek.

"What gives?" he exclaims. He dips his hand in some cheese and then sticks it into his mouth to lick it away. From his unwavering stare as he does it, you can tell that he was intentionally doing it to bother you. It did, but instead of being disgusted like he was expecting you to, you floated over and pulled him by the arm.

"What _are_ you—"

"C'mon, get up," you grunt. "Enough lazing around. You want to have some fun, don't you?"

Purple looks at you with surprise but allows you to pull him off his back.

"Uh, yeah?" he says hesitantly. He looks you over suspiciously, as if searching for some sign that you were actually an imposter.

"Then clean up and get changed!" You push his shoulders to get him off the couch. You then begin to shove him towards one of the outfitting chambers that was in the room, but he anchors himself to the couch and turns to look at you disconcertingly.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" he questions, suspicion evident in his expression and voice.

You sigh and look away.

"Alright, fine," you say. "I thought about it, and... I might be a _little_ bit boring, like you said."

"Really boring." Purple agrees.

"And bossy." you add.

"A _lot_ bossy."

"Okay, I get it," you huff, giving him a warning look. "So, I want to make it up to you. From now on, I'll try to be more chill and a bit more lenient with you and Red."

Purple's expression lights up with excitement. He opens his mouth to speak but you stop him.

"But," you begin. "You're also gonna have to be a more responsible Tallest. You can still have all the snacks you want and do whatever, but you're gonna have to take your job more seriously."

He looks less excited at that, but he shrugs it off. "You know what? Okay, that's fair, but you've also gotta maybe... teach us some of the stuff Miyuki used to do."

You beam at him.

"Deal." you say. He looks taken aback by your big smile, but the surprise lasts for only a few seconds before he returns it with a grin. The both of you drift into your own individual outfitting chambers and you change out of your Tallest robes.

"So, we're going somewhere for our break?" Purple asks from within the other chamber.

"Yep." Mechanical hands move to fit a different kind of armour over your body. Your corset is loosened, and your heavy skirt is replaced by a pair of pants for better mobility.

"Wanna tell me where?"

You step out of the chamber and lean on the one that your fellow Tallest was in.

"We're hitting the simulation joint."

Purple takes a few more seconds before stepping out, an excited but mischievous look on his face.

" _Sweet_."

* * *

The simulation joint was just as you remembered it—scuffed steel walls, blindingly bright viewing screens, stained tables and loud, boisterous Elites arm-wrestling and just generally roughhousing while they waited for their turn in the arena or were just hanging out. The only difference was that it had a different paint job.

One of the things about being tallest of your race is that it really caught the people's attention, so heads turned immediately when the two of you entered. When Irkens saw you, they went quiet, and those that didn't realise quickly did.

You suddenly felt apprehensive. Crap, the Tallest doesn't just hit the town and hang out with the shorties. This wasn't right. What were you thinking?

You're brought out of your thoughts by a nudge on your elbow. You look to your left and do a double take when you see Purple.

"Everyone's looking," he whispers—the widest, most prideful smile on his face. "Awesome, huh?"

You shake some of the stiffness out of your limbs and inhale a sharp breath. _You're not boring. Don't lose your nerve._

The two of you drift towards the front desk to register and take your number. As you do, the chatter starts up again, but in hushed voices and whispers this time. The many eyes on you don't go away. You try to ignore them while in front of you Purple's practically glowing with all the attention.

He bends over slightly to lean his arm on the top of the front desk and address the small Irken behind it. The smaller had to crane his neck to look at his Tallest, but his eyes didn't exactly meet Purple's and he was practically vibrating with how hard he was shaking.

"Hey there Sox," Purple greets casually. "Been a while, huh?"

"E-Elite—Uh, I-I mean, m-m-m-my Tallest!" the Irken stammers. He clears his throat and tries to let his words catch up. "Um, uh, y-yes. It's an honour to have you here. Again."

Purple chuckles. He snags one of Sox's jellybeans with his claw and gestures to the shorter Irken's touchpad with it before popping it in his mouth.

"Yeah. Get those little fingers of yours tapping, will you? Me and my pal here—" He gestures to you. "— _your super-awesome super-cool Almighty Tallest,_ have next dibs on Doom Room 1."

The sweat beading Sox's forehead drips as he looks down at the touchscreen. He swipes away from a colourful video game to the listings.

"Um, I'm sorry—with all due respect, my Tallest, the next use of that room is booked by—"

Purple opens his mouth to interrupt him, but someone else beats him to it.

"Did no one teach you to respect the Tallest, Sox?"

You and Purple turn to look at the newcomer and your co-Tallest _beams_.

"Hey, Zeff!" he laughs, floating towards him and offering his fist. It bewilders the shorter Elite for a moment before he gladly bumps it with his own with a smile almost as wide as his Tallest's. "How've you been, man?"

"Kicking butts and blowing heads, you know how it is—my Tallest," he adds quickly. They may be former Irkens-in-arms, but an Irken still mustn't disrespect their Tallest—Even if it stroked his already massive ego.

Zeff looks down at Sox behind the counter. "The Tallest can have my turn, Sox. They're the bosses, after all."

The smaller nods hastily and hurries to change the listing with his trembling fingers. If any more tallers were looking at him, he might actually just fall to pieces. It was a pitiful sight, so you slip a lollipop from your pocket and drop it on the table. You don't wait to see Sox's reaction to it as Zeff starts beckoning to you and Purple.

"This way, my Tallest. As usual, I've got the best seats in the house."

You go into the waiting area where all the off-duty Irkens were hanging about. They scatter and pull chairs to let you pass, all the while saluting and gazing up at you with awe. It made pride swell in your chest, but it also made you feel immensely nervous, especially with the bright viewing screens floating around the room, showcasing the current Irkens in the arenas.

The three of you approach a table at the other side of the room positioned right next to the snack and soda machines. All around it, a group of tall Irkens were gathered. You recognise some of them from the evaluation you did earlier and some were actually fellow soldiers you used to know.

You felt awkward all of a sudden. You haven't seen these Irkens in years and they were your subjects now. What do you do? How does a Tallest casually address off-duty smallers?

While you panic, Purple, on the other hand, was taking it all in stride.

"Hey Smola! Nice uniform, Freck! Sweet kicks Dela! Ay, long time no see, Gis! Did you get taller? Ooh, is that Nova Soda?"

You hate to admit it, but it made you _really_ jealous.

The smallers, upon casually being addressed by their Tallest, joyously responds in the same manner. Some even slip up and call him by his name, but no one really notices.

Zeff ushers some Irkens off their seats and offers them to the two of you. Purple drops himself into the chair and you sit down in the one next to him. The smallers converge all around you with no lack of shoving or pushing, each of them wanting to be as close to their Tallest as possible while still respecting boundaries.

Zeff grabs some cups and gestures to you.

"Any preferences?" he asks. Despite the casual question, his tone was polite, which you appreciate.

You tell him your preferred soda flavour, and when he turns away from the soda machine he slides you and Purple your cups. Your fellow Tallest smoothly catches his in his hand and downs half in a second. You frown when some of it spills, but you don't comment on it.

"We've met before, haven't we?"

"Huh?"

Someone was looking directly at you. She appears awfully familiar but you couldn't pinpoint her name for the life of you.

"I think so." you say. You squint slightly, trying really hard to put a name to this Irken's face. She squints back at you as if she was also trying to recall something.

"I remember you," someone else says. He leans over the table, his eyes bright and also vaguely familiar. "You're that hothead Red used to follow around a bunch."

Someone else gasps. " _You're_ Short Fuse?"

Murmurs spread around the table and judgemental looks are passed to the two Irkens for their bluntness and blatant disrespect. They shrink into themselves, especially when you direct a firm look at them.

"'Hothead'? 'Short Fuse'?" you press. " _That's_ how you address your Tallest?"

They look just about ready to fall to pieces, but your intimidating air is broken by Purple chortling.

"I mean, they're not inaccurate," he says, resting an arm on your shoulder that you nudge away. "Also, it's really funny. Like, 'Short Fuse'? It's ironic!"

You direct an unimpressed look at him. His laugh dies away and he clears his throat awkwardly.

"Anyway," he says to try and make a recovery, swirling the soda in his cup by moving it in a circular motion. "Speaking of Red, he and I came in here all the time!"

"He and _I_ came here all the time." you mumble a bit bitterly. Purple gives you a confused look.

"That's what I said?"

You sigh.

"Nevermind."

There was a curious expression on his face, but he doesn't prod at you for once.

"I remember that," that first familiar Irken pipes up. "I used to see you two here a lot before you got that new encoding."

"Red always said that you got to work directly under Almighty Miyuki." Zeff chimes in, an inquisitive gleam in his eyes. "What was it like?" He halts and adds, "I mean—if you don't mind me asking, of course."

You were sort of hoping it wouldn't come up, but with how everyone at the table leans in a little more eagerly you're prompted to share at least a little bit.

"It was..." You think about it for a moment, tapping your claws on your cup rhythmically as you did. "Interesting. And really cool, to be so close to Miyuki a bunch. Very insightful, too, to get to see everything that the Tallest does."

"Did you get to fire the flagship's cannon?" someone else pipes up.

"I did." You pause and then add with a smirk, "It was awesome."

A wave of "Oooh"s go around the table. If it was possible, they look even more awed and impressed by you, which really made your confidence swell.

Next to you, Purple whistles. "Sweet. It's pretty cool that you're gonna get to do that as the Tallest now too."

His words make you do a double take. Your eyes meet his.

"So will you."

The hand holding his soda cup goes still. For a second, all he does is stare back at you, his expression unreadable, but then he looks away. You feel awkward again and take a large sip of your own soda.

A loud explosion emits from the viewing screens, grabbing your attention as well as the other Irkens' at the table. The screen then shows a name and (rather impressive) score and everyone in the room begins cheering, clapping and whistling. A moment later, a battered, bruised and soot-covered Elite trudges into the room and stands pridefully as he absorbs all of their praise.

Simultaneously, your and Purple's gauntlets beep.

"It's our turn now," Purple says. He looks back up at you and the corners of his mouth curve into a smug smile. "It's not too late to back out."

Your face goes warm, embarrassed that you had let your nerves show. You compose yourself and return his expression.

"Was that a suggestion?" you snark back. His smile only widens.

The two of you stand from your seats and the tall Irkens whoop and cheer.

"Nice job." you tell the soot-covered Elite as you both pass him. He becomes dumbstruck by the praise as well as the unexpected presence of his Tallest and falls over, passing out within seconds.


	2. Explosive Flavour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing the action, you have no idea.
> 
> I actually had a lot of trouble with it at first, so much so that I had to scrap 1000+ words or so because it just wasn't good and I loathed to read it, but I stepped back, gave it some time and when I got back to it, I tried a different approach and it came so easily! Taking a break can do wonders.

Standing in the weapons room, you feel like an idiot.

At the other side of the room, Purple was seemingly picking out his weapons without much care, but you recognised it—The ease and knowledge of a trained and skilled soldier.

In your attempt to make amends, you had just lured yourself into a trap. Tallest have a history of killing off their rivals and getting away with it. You had doubts that he was capable of that, but despite his slacking and laziness, Purple was still a strong fighter with a record-breaking kill count. You, on the other hand, have hardly exercised your fighting skills in the last few years. There was no doubt that you were rusty. Compared to him, you were just an amateur.

If he decided you weren't worth dealing with anymore, you were done for. If you gave him the slightest chance, he could easily kill you during this and worm himself out of the trouble without breaking a sweat. What off-worlders say about Irkens, especially their trained Invaders, were true. Your kind was sly, slick and deceitful.

You had to tread carefully.

"You seem nervous."

You glare at him out of the corner of your eye.

"I'm not."

"Hey, I'm not gonna judge," he says, holding up his hands defensively. Wariness seized you at the sight of the blaster in one of his hands. "I'd expect that sitting around in a ship all day for a few years wouldn't really get you much action, so—"

"I said I'm not scared, so shut up." you hiss.

"I didn't say you were scared?"

" _Shut up._ "

He mumbles to himself, but then eventually does go quiet. His irritation is evident by the twitch of his antennae. Your anger simmers away and you shut your eyes tightly, feeling foolish again.

That was _not_ a good start to preventing your own death sentence.

You sigh and demand for yourself to just. _Chill._ Sweet Irk, just let your PAK stop you from feeling.

"Sorry." you say.

"Whatever, man." The response was too dismissive for your liking.

You both do your stretches in an uncomfortable silence. In front of you, a timer ticks down.

_tick, tick, tick..._

You glance at Purple again.

_tick, tick, tick.._

You force a small smile.

_tick, tick, tick..._

He smirks.

_BZZZZT. GET READY FOR DOOM!_

The doors in front of you slide open.

"The one with the most kills wins!"

"What—?"

Purple sprints out into the arena, leaving you behind in the dust. You blink and shake your head. Steeling yourself, you hurry after him, blaster-first, charged and ready.

Doom Room 1 was a large, open space within the simulation joint, rigged with schmillions and schmillions of traps, projectors and robots hidden behind the metal floors and walls waiting to be released. Metal pillars protruded from the ceiling to floor—either to be blown up or climbed. It depends on what your strategy was.

Purple was already incinerating robotic enemies left and right. They climbed out from the floors or down the walls and pillars in swarms on skittering legs with plasma cannons protruding out from their backs and unflattering holographic images that imitated various enemy species. Purple moved like lightning, side-stepping, hopping and ducking laserbeams left and right while also flawlessly hitting his mark.

You couldn't focus too much on him, though, no matter how much you wanted to. As soon as you entered the mock battlefield, you were overtaken by the instincts that had been ingrained into you even before your years as an Elite.

Your attention quickly focuses on the approaching threat and your body springs into action almost all on its own. Almost instantly, your mind recalls all of your years and experience slicing limbs and crushing skulls. All of your knowledge and skill were brought forth from the box that you had stashed them all into as if they'd never been stashed away in the first place.

You couldn't perform them as perfectly as you used to, but you still got it. Your aim was still true, your strikes all remained deadly and fatal. The sensation of crumbling robots beneath your boot and the sizzling of fried wires and machinery at a single blast of your gun filled you with a satisfaction that you hadn't realised you missed so much.

You haven't practiced moving with your hover belt much, especially when in the heat of battle, but you had to get used to it so you got used to it fast. At first, the weightlessness of your body made you clumsy, but you learned quickly how to use it to your advantage.

Despite this, you still preferred to use your PAK legs. During your years as a Navigator, you hadn't really had much need to use them, especially in situations that required such coordination and speed, so to use them again was like taking your first breath of fresh Irk air.

The metal extensions carried you towards your enemies with a speed that startled you at first, but you didn't lose your bearings and the blasts of your guns continued to shoot down one robot after the other. Your PAK legs don't struggle or falter even a little as you manoeuvred around obstacles, jumped from the pillars and walls and struck through your enemies with deadly precision.

Your anxiety and worry dissipated quickly and it felt almost as if they'd never been there. You were completely consumed in the high of adrenaline rushing through your veins and the release of energy that you had gathered within you. It feels almost as if you could go up against anyone.

So lost in your enjoyment, you almost didn't realize it when you'd run out of robots to destroy. The two of you are allowed a moment of reprieve before the next wave starts and Purple appears next to you as you are lowered down to the floor. Looking at his bright purple eyes, you see a sort of admiration in them. His mouth is tilted in an impressed smirk as he regards you.

"Nice PAK technique!" he says. "Wouldn't have expected something like _that_ from you."

You feel that burning fire from earlier fester within you again.

"Why not?" you reply challengingly. "Doesn't matter how long ago it was, but I used to be a soldier, too. Don't forget that, Tallest Purple."

His smirk makes one of his eyes squint. The lax expression on his face makes your squeedlyspooch twist with annoyance.

"I won't," he says with a breathy chuckle. "Red really likes to talk a lot about how cool you are, but honestly, I didn't really get it."

Your antennae stand on top of your head and Purple seems to enjoy that you had taken offence, but he wasn't done yet.

"I mean, sure, you were tall and you got to work with Almighty Miyuki, but unless I see something for myself, to me, talk's just talk," he continues. "I trust what Red thinks, but when he talked about you, I just couldn't get it. So you get to press some buttons and listen to Miyuki ramble and boss you around all day, so what? Breaking bones and blowing up enemy troops is _way_ cooler."

Your ire urges you to respond heatedly to his comments, but he holds up a finger and stops you.

"But," He pauses dramatically before saying more, much to your irritation. "I think I do kinda get it now that I've met you. You _are_ pretty cool, even if you are kind of a bummer and super bossy. You're smart and you know what you're doing and you also kick butt pretty good for someone who doesn't get out much. Red's right." He huffs a laugh and flicks his antennae. "As usual."

The compliments catch you by surprise and leave you speechless. You hadn't expected him to be so...nice, all of a sudden, even if there were some insults mixed in there.

You weren't really sure how to respond.

"Thank you." you say after a moment of contemplation.

If you had more to say, you couldn't as an alarm buzzes over your heads, signalling the beginning of your next battle. The two of you spring back into action as quickly as you had eased out of it. You dispatch your enemies swiftly, but out of the corner of your eye, you see Purple moving next to you in a blur.

For a moment, your PAK legs grip onto a pillar and you stop to catch your breath, but your co-Tallest continues to run the robots through without faltering. You hear him shout and cheer with glee and no matter how fast you moved you still couldn't match his pace.

He had you envious, but also awed.

Nearing the end of your session, a loud cry rings out and a larger robot bursts from the wall. It plows through its smaller brethren as it approaches the two of you.

From the large canon on top of its head, it shoots a long, deadly beam that razes the other robots and slices through the pillars like they were cake. You jump out of its aim just in time, but you couldn't move fast enough to avoid from one of the falling pillars. Purple could, though, and suddenly he was knocking into you. The two of you tumble to the floor, and as quickly as Purple was on you he was on his feet again.

He's already back in action by the time you regain your bearings. The first thing he does is climb up a pillar and throw a bomb into the robot's eye to momentarily blind it. He's quick to pull out more explosives from within his PAK and stick them to the pillars surrounding it before it can recover. His tactic might seem frenzied and uncoordinated to the untrained eye, but you can tell he knows what he's doing.

Once all the bombs were in place, his PAK legs carry him away and you follow. Sticking to the side of a pillar with you watching from a higher vantage, he presses something on his gauntlet. A manic grin stretches across his face as the bombs erupt in a fantastic explosion that sends the pillars collapsing over your oversized adversary. The robot had a tough hide, but with so much weight on it it eventually gives away and breaks apart. Its exposed insides spark and lights flickered before going out completely.

Gaping at the carnage, you couldn't help but feel astounded and impressed. Your fellow Tallest had taken down the enemy all on his own quicker than you anticipate you or even Red could. Even though you already knew he was an exceptional soldier, it still has you awestruck to behold the carnage he sowed. His plan wasn't elaborate, nor was it thought out too well, but it _worked_.

When you look at him, he has the most smug expression on his face.

"You're still not as cool as me, though."

* * *

Leaving the room, both you and Purple were swarmed by a crowd of cheering, hollering Irkens screaming praise and worship at the top of their lungs and wiggling their antennae like crazy. Riding on the hype, you spent all the monies you won doing the Doom Room to buy each Irken there an extra drink, and they all went completely feral.

The attention that had mostly been focused on Purple turned to you and in less than a second _you_ became the cooler Tallest. Purple was a bit bitter about it, if him spilling your own soda on you was any indication. You paid back for it by slipping ice into his chestplate.

It was all in good fun, though. The companionable air between the two of you remained and honestly, you liked it. You laughed and exchanged banter with ease despite the stain on your pants and the cold water in his chestplate. It was a nice change from your usual squabbling.

Purple is still the same idiot you left Irk with, but you have a new respect for him now. From the way he's treating you, it seems like he returned the sentiment.

Once you've had enough of partying with the Elites, the two of you returned to the ship, but you didn't get back to being Tallest just yet. Just a little bit more of an extension to your break wouldn't hurt, so you both gathered some snacks and drinks, floated past the bewildered crew and set up a snack pile on top of the ship.

Your ship, _the Substantial_ was built bigger and sturdier than most if not all other Irken ships. Parked in the landing dock among all the Spittle Runners and Shuvvers, she stuck out like a bent PAK leg, especially with her magenta colouring and imposing size and design. She used to be Miyuki's commanding vessel, but you'd always treated her like your own even before you claimed her as one of the new Tallest.

Right now, though, as you circle your fingers on her hull, you were considering perhaps giving her a different paint job. It didn't really seem fair to only have her in your colour as she technically also belonged to Red and Purple, but perhaps you could allow them to have _their_ colours on the new flagship in the future, whenever the Vortians decide that _the Massive_ was ready for space-travelling and planetary destruction, that is.

You're pulled out of your thoughts when you hear thudding behind you. You crush the lollipop you had been sucking on and pull the stick out of your mouth before you turn around. You see PAK legs appear over the side of the ship, being followed by Purple's head and then the rest of his body. He was holding his hands behind him and biting on his lip, as if he was trying hard not to smile like a crazy person.

You quirk an antenna questioningly and try to sneak a look behind him.

"Where'd you run off to?" you ask him. His PAK legs lower him down so he just floats over to you, still with his hands behind his back and that gleeful expression on his face.

"Nnnnowhere. Just took a quick trip back to the Commanders' lounge and snagged a lil' something." He reveals his prize and you gasp. They were bags of chocolate chips and colourful sprinkles—the exact toppings for your ice cream that you have been missing—including some fresh strawberries. Your excitement vanishes, though, when you realise what he's insinuating.

"You _stole_ these from the Commanders'?" you say, your voice already taking on that scolding tone. Purple only looks a little bit sheepish. It must be very satisfying to take something from your former superiors and have them be powerless to do anything about it.

"So what? We're the Tallest. Why _shouldn't_ we enjoy our snacks without any good toppings?" He waves the toppings in your face tauntingly. When you don't argue, he drops the bags into your lap and sits down next to you.

You don't say anything. For a moment, all you do is stare down at the bags and then at Purple, who quickly looks away when you turn to him.

You feel a warmth spread in your chest. They were an apology—his peace offering to you. He really was surprising you a lot today, wasn't he?

"Thanks," you say. You couldn't see his expression, but his antennae perk up a little. "It's pretty cool of you to go grab these."

Purple shrugs, pretending to be dismissive, but his antennae betray that he felt relieved.

"Yeah," he fishes out a box of donuts from the snack pile and when he faces your way slightly, you catch the small smile on his face. "They're not chocolate sauce, but they're still good, right?"

You nod in agreement and his antennae stand a little higher.

You pull a bucket of ice cream towards you and uncap the lid. Grabbing a handful of chocolate chips, you rain them over the top of it. Deciding to be a little generous to yourself, you add more plus sprinkle in some sprinkles before finally being satisfied. You grab a little bit more of the toppings and toss them into your mouth before finally putting the bag aside. As you do, you purposely nudge Purple in the side, giving him silent permission to take some himself, which he does, going straight for the sprinkles to add on top of his donuts.

The two of you continue to sit together in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though, and neither did you feel tense nor annoyed. It was a nice companionable silence; just two Irkens enjoying snacks and each other's company.

It sort of reminds you of the times you and Red used to sit together between assignments, back when there were less schedules to keep up with and less expectations to meet. The closest thing that could compare to that was spending your breaks with your crew in the cafeteria, where there was no one around to constantly watch your every move, but that was still very different to what the time spent between you and Red were like.

Sitting with Purple felt so similar to your time with Red and it freaked you out how comfortable you were with it, especially considering you hated his guts only a few hours ago and thought he wanted to kill you.

It was just so... _easy_. _Too_ easy. You weren't used to it, and a part of you began to wonder just how much of what you've seen of Purple was actually true. There was no way you could be getting along so well.

Another part of you is chiding you for being so paranoid, but you couldn't help it. It was just too easy and that didn't sit well with you.

"I kinda miss it."

You blink. Pushing your thoughts away, you return to reality and look at Purple questioningly.

"Miss what?" you inquire. You shovel some ice cream into your mouth as you wait for his response.

"Being a soldier," he says with some reluctance in his tone. The expression on his face was almost wistful. "Yeah, being a Tallest is the most awesome thing ever, but I do sometimes think about those days, you know? And going back to that place and seeing all my old comrades again and spending time with them... it was really nice."

You hum thoughtfully at his words. You could recall them easily; the beaming smile on his face and the jovial sound of his laugh around his former fellow soldiers. He had been really happy and thinking about it somehow made that feeling grow in you too.

Even though you probably weren't feeling exactly the same way he was, you nodded. "It was."

Purple leans back on his hands and he gazes out into the green horizon of Devastis. You couldn't imagine the amount of thoughts that could possibly be running through his head right now, because your own were going completely wild. To try and ignore them, you follow Purple's gaze and watch and listened as spaceships entered or departed from the atmosphere. You used to be in one of those ships a long, long time ago. Thinking about it, it was almost bizarre how different things are now.

A weight rests on your shoulder. You feel yourself stiffen.

"What are you doing?"

At your words, Purple is quickly struck by realisation. He immediately removes his head and looks at you with wide eyes and a greener face.

"Uh, I—" he stammers, completely flustered. "I was just—Nevermind, it's weird, forgetaboutit!"

He then embarrassedly looks away and stuffs a donut into his mouth desperately to shut himself up. You look at him, confused, but you don't linger on it for too long.

The two of you are stuck together, after all. You'll figure that out some other time. Right now, you just wanted to sit back, relax, and not care about a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so much better than the last one that I think the difference in quality might be staggering, but it can't be helped rn. Could just be me though, because I had a lot more fun writing this one. What do y'all think?
> 
> On a different note—Y'ALL the newest RotTMNT episodes have me sHOOK. I'm so emotional rn
> 
> (ALSO I ALMOST FORGOT TO ADD: If you have any prompts and/or ideas about what I could write next, please share them! I really want to write more for this series and I need more inspiration. Feedback is also always appreciated! <3


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